Various types of swimwear are worn during aquatic activities, including swimming, diving, surfing, water skiing, and scuba diving. As an example of one type of swimwear, racing suits are commonly worn when engaging in competitive swimming or diving. Racing suits are generally formed from stretch knitted textiles (e.g., knitted textiles that incorporate spandex and stretch more than ten percent prior to tensile failure) that provides a tight-fitting configuration to reduce drag. Although some racing suits only cover the pelvic region of an individual, other racing suits cover a majority of the torso and may extend over arms and legs of the individual. As an example of a second type of swimwear, water shorts are commonly worn while surfing or engaging in recreational swimming. In contrast with the stretch knitted textiles of racing suits, water shorts are generally formed from non-stretch woven textiles (e.g., woven textiles that stretch less than ten percent prior to tensile failure) and exhibit a loose-fitting configuration. Although water shorts may be relatively tight around the waist of an individual, water shorts are generally loose-fitting in the pelvic region and the leg regions of the individual.
Stretch knitted textiles and non-stretch woven textiles react differently when immersed in water or otherwise saturated with water. More particularly, stretch knitted textiles may stretch or otherwise deform when exposed to fluid flow or subjected to the additional weight of being saturated with water. When pre-stretched to impart the tight-fitting configuration of racing suits (i.e., when a racing suit is worn), however, tension in the stretch knitted textiles is generally sufficient to overcome the deformation that occurs as a result of being saturated with water. In contrast with stretch knitted textiles, non-stretch woven textiles are dimensionally-stable. Given the loose-fitting configuration of water shorts, non-stretch woven textiles are generally utilized in order to reduce deformation that occurs when the water shorts are exposed to fluid flow or subjected to the additional weight of being saturated with water. That is, the non-stretch woven textiles utilized in water shorts remain dimensionally-stable when exposed to water.
Two common techniques for manufacturing textiles are knitting and weaving. Knitting involves the formation of a plurality of columns of intermeshed loops to form a knitted textile. Many stretch textiles are manufactured through knitting because relatively large spaces between yarns in the knitted textiles enhance stretch. For this reason, the stretch textiles utilized in racing suits are often knitted textiles. The relatively large spaces between yarns in knitted textiles also tend to hold a relatively large quantity of water, thereby increasing the deformation that occurs as a result of being saturated with water. Weaving involves intersecting yarns that cross each other at right angles to form a woven textile. Many non-stretch textiles are manufactured through weaving because the longitudinally-extending yarns and relatively small spaces between the yarns in the woven textiles provide lesser stretch than knitted textiles. For this reason, the non-stretch textiles utilized in water shorts are often woven textiles. The relatively small spaces between yarns in woven textiles also tend to hold a relatively small quantity of water, thereby decreasing the deformation (in comparison with knit textiles) that occurs as a result of being saturated with water.
Knitted textiles and woven textiles, whether of stretch or non-stretch types, also differ in terms of durability and permanent deformation. In comparison with woven textiles, knitted textiles may be less abrasion resistant and may snag more easily. When formed from similar materials, therefore, the overall durability of woven textiles may be greater than knitted textiles. In addition, knitted textiles may permanently deform more easily than woven textiles when subjected to tensile forces (i.e., when stretched). More particularly, the yarns forming loops in the knitted textiles may slide relative to each other and cause the knitted textiles to permanently remain in a stretched state, whereas woven textiles are less likely to become permanently stretched when subjected to tensile forces.